Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 43, 20th November 2000
SECTION 1
BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Wednesday 22nd November
Thursday 23rd November
The highlights of this week’s committee business are:
Finance: meets in Aberdeen on Monday to take evidence from among others Aberdeen Council, Grampian Health Board and Scottish Enterprise Grampian on the 2001/02 Budget Process. They will then take evidence from Finance Minister, Angus Mackay, and then debate the Minister’s motion to approve the draft order.
Justice & Home Affairs: meets in Glasgow on Monday to take evidence on the report by the Scottish Consortium on Crime and Criminal Justice, Rethinking Criminal Justice in Scotland, from, among others, Scottish Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (SACRO) and Victim Support.
Procedures: meets to consider an Executive response paper on Parliamentary Questions.
Standards: will consider a draft consultation paper on the Members’ Interests Order.
Subordinate Legislation: will consider the delegated powers provisions in the Abolition of Poindings and Warrants Sales Bill as amended at stage 2.
Rural Affairs: continues to take evidence on the Protection of Wild Mammals Bill from, among others, The Master of Foxhounds Association.
For a fuller account on the work of the committees, please see tomorrow’s Committee Brief.
SECTION 2
NEWS
The needs of victims need to be placed at the heart of our criminal justice system, with better support and information for them at all stages, according to Deputy Justice Minister, Iain Gray.
Speaking at the Victim Support Scotland (VSS) 2000 Celebration in Glasgow, he said:
"I want a criminal justice system that manages to balance the need to be fair to those who are on trial, with a clear understanding of the needs and concerns of those who are involved as victims and witnesses.
"Next month, we will launch a Strategy for Victims which will provide a framework to link the range of work now being undertaken by statutory and voluntary agencies to support victims of crime."
Mr Gray also welcomed findings which show violent crime across Scotland in October was down by 10.6% compared with October 1999.
Current Aspects of the Executive’s Policy on Victims of Crime
Victims Strategy
The Executive is currently developing a Victims' Strategy to provide a coherent framework which will co-ordinate its approach to victims’ issues. It will mean that the agencies within the criminal justice system will be responsible for drawing up their own action plans, based on a set of broad principles. These plans will thus set the standards for future services for victims and tell victims what they can expect from the system.
Cross Examination and Vulnerable and Intimidated Witnesses
Recent proposals set out to ensure that accused persons in rape and other sexual offence cases cannot personally cross-examine the alleged victim, while still making sure that the trial remains fair to the accused.
The Executive’s aim is to see better treatment of all vulnerable or intimidated witnesses. It plans, therefore, to publish a further consultation paper next year, which will look at ways of expanding the current statutory definition of 'vulnerable person' and examine how those who need it can be given support or protection.
Witness Services
The Executive is currently extending witness schemes to cover all the Sheriff Courts in Scotland, at a cost of £2 Million over 2 years. The Service provides volunteer support at court for victims and witnesses - and helps reduce some of the anxiety which going to court can cause.
Crown Office Victim and Witness Service
The Lord Advocate has announced an extra £2.2 million to develop a victims and witness service in the Crown Office. The new service will respond to the needs of victims, witnesses and bereaved next of kin for information and assistance within the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal Service.
Domestic Abuse
A Domestic Abuse Service Development Fund, supported by £3m from the Executive, is providing a range of local support services for victims and more refuge places and longer-term accommodation.
Scotland's first national domestic abuse helpline was launched in June this year. The Executive is funding a three-year TV, radio and newspaper advertising campaign to highlight domestic abuse and will publish its National Strategy to address domestic abuse later this month.
Environment Minister, Sam Galbraith, has proposed a £24m scheme that would bring lower water charges to thousands of Scots in lower income households.
The proposals - which would ensure that no household receiving Council Tax benefit would pay more than £3.85 each week for their combined water and sewerage services next year - are outlined in a consultation paper brought before Parliament last Wednesday.
The paper outlines the Executive's proposals for a scheme to limit the amount paid in charges by those on Council Tax Benefit. It also reports on the outcome of an earlier consultation exercise carried out among those with a particular interest in the issues surrounding affordability of water charges, and on work carried out by the Water Industry Commissioner on the subject.
The deadline for responses to the consultation exercise is Monday 22 January.
Finance and Local Government Minister, Angus MacKay, announced on Friday that Port Glasgow and Clydebank will be the areas of Scotland proposed to receive funding under the new URBAN European Community Initiative.
Proposals will be submitted to the European Commission today which will lead to Programmes attracting 12 million Euros (approx £7.5 million) of European funding.
Mr MacKay said:
"I am pleased to announce our intention that Port Glasgow and Clydebank benefit from the URBAN II Community Initiative. Outline programmes for these areas have now been lodged with European Commission and negotiations will shortly commence.
"The proposals for Port Glasgow concentrate on maintaining a sustainable community, addressing de-population and will ensure strong partnership between the public and private sectors."
The Programmes will be submitted as part of the UK proposals under URBAN II. Subject to the Commission response to the areas proposed, detailed programmes will be developed for negotiation with the Commission.
Formal approval is expected around Easter 2001, with implementation following shortly thereafter.
SECTION 3
NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S CHAMBER BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY
The main business on Wednesday afternoon is an Executive
debate on Local Government Finance.
Last Thursday the Executive announced sweeping changes in the system of local government finance.
Key elements of the new system will be:
Click here to request further information.
This is followed by debate of John Scott’s (Con) private members motion on designations of Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation.
THURSDAY
Thursday is a fairly busy day with many committee led debates, most of which are on rather dry, technical matters.
The day begins with a Standards Committee led debate on Investigation of Complaints & the Appointment of a Standards Commissioner.
The debate is expected to be non-controversial. The Standards Committee has been considering how complaints should be investigated, and has come to the conclusion that an Independent Standards Commissioner should be appointed. They have also developed a four-part procedure for the investigation of complaints. This debate invites Parliament to endorse their proposals.
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This is followed by a debate led by the Procedures Committee on Written Questions.
This debate concerns recommendations made in a Procedures Committee report regarding the speed and quality of replies to written Parliamentary questions. They recommend improvements to Executive practice, but they also suggest to members that they should word questions more carefully and ensure that they could not get the information from another source.
Click here to read the full report.
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We then have another debate from the Procedures Committee, this time on the subject of its report regarding Changes to Standing Orders. (The rules which govern parliamentary procedure.)
This debate is required to effect two changes to standing orders proposed by the Standards Committee:
i) An Extension to the remit of the Subordinate Legislation Committee (At present the Subordinate Legislation Committee can only consider aspects of bills where the wording is strictly framed as giving ministers legislative powers. However, sometimes bills confer general legislative powers on ministers without the wording being framed in this strict form, and the sub leg committee wishes to be able to comment on those as well.); and
ii) An increase in the maximum length of a member’s business debate from 30 to 45 minutes.
Click here to read the full Report
The majority of the remainder of the day will be taken up with the Stage 1 debate of the Salmon Conservation (Scotland) Bill.
Stocks of salmon in Scotland’s rivers are lower than they have ever been – which is bad news for the economy, the ecosystem, and anglers. One of the reasons why stocks are falling is that Scottish rivers have been over-fished.
This Bill will give the Scottish Executive some more powers to protect the stocks of wild (not farmed) salmon and sea trout in Scotland. The Bill gives the Executive the power to make regulations (via statutory instruments to be approved by the Scottish Parliament) which will conserve salmon.
Although the Bill gives powers to the Executive, regulations will be largely at the bequest of local level organisations (namely District Salmon Fisheries Boards).
The Bill achieves this by inserting 5 new sections into the Salmon Act 1986.
Also, the Executive will be able to take action on their own initiative or in response to an application. The Executive will have to consult on their plans. The Bill includes a section on how the regulations will be enforced, and how people who breach them will be punished.
The Bill will have no effect on the salmon which appears on Scottish plates, most of which is farmed salmon. This Bill will have no direct effect on salmon farming, but only on wild salmon in Scotland’s rivers and seas.
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The day closes with a Member’s Business debate on Tinnitus from Margaret Jamieson (Lab).
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